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Outfitting your travel kit for USB-C

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Old Feb 10, 2019, 10:52 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: cheltzel
If you want to use USB C for more than charging, then these two posts are useful: 1 2.

When planning your charger loadout, do note the charger your laptop shipped with is not a requirement, a lower one will be fine. For example, https://9to5mac.com/2018/09/25/60w-u...-all-macbooks/ says

the 87W charger filled up my 15-inch MacBook Pro battery more quickly than the 60W charger, but not by very much. After an hour and a half, the 87W charger added 76% battery while the 60W charger added 72%.
On the other hand, most laptops are not built to use higher wattage even if available. It won't hurt your laptop, though.

Buy chargers on Amazon at your own risk, they are known to commingle stock from every third party sellers. But, the chargers here do not have fakes (yet?) so even Amazon might be safe.

The smallest USB C chargers:
  1. Mu One. 45W. Comes with UK, US, EU folding plugs. 96 x 55 x 14mm, 82g with the UK plug attached. 3.78 x 2.17 x 0.55 inch, 2.89oz. Manufacturer shop, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N1PK1RP https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07N1PK1RP
  2. RAVPower GaN 45W : 72 x 54 x 14.9mm / 2.83 x 2.12 x 0.59inch, 75g / 2.65oz. This is a similar charger to Mu One only without the nifty plug heads. It is marginally cheaper, but without the unique multi-region folding plugs it isn't as good of an option for international travelers. Manufacturer shop, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H9WMW6N
  3. Innergie 60C (nee 55CC): 65W 60 x 30 x 30mm / 2.3 x 1.2 x 1.2 inch, 85g. While much thicker than the previous two, when the socket is hidden in a recess this has a much better chance to fit. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GBYVF4Q Also, a cable is available to charge legacy laptops https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GBYL5KZ only compatible with the Innergie 60C. This makes the Finsix Dart fully obsolete, it started as a legacy laptop charger and a USB C cable was planned and reviewed two years ago but never shipped.
If you have more than one USB C device:
  1. Satechi 75W: USB C 60W, USB C 18W, two USB A share 12W. 4" x 2.63" x 1", 11.14 oz. Manufacturer shop https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078864F15
  2. LVSUN LS-PD87-2C sold as Hyperjuice 87W charger: two USB C and one USB A all three share 87W. 4.33" x 3.86" x 0.79", 8.32oz Aliexpress Hyper https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KLWDY9C
  3. Hyperjuice battery: 27000 mAh USB C 100W, USB C 60W, USB A 18W. 7.2" x 3" x 0.84" / 183.2 x 77.1 x 21.3 mm Manufacturer shop (although it goes through indiegogo, it is not crowdfunding, it's just a shop)
  4. Maru & Masa Kickstarter: Maru is a 82mm/3.23" diameter bagel, 28mm/1.1" thick, 7.4oz, USB C 45W, USB C 18W, two USB A share 15W, three international AC sockets, nifty interchangeable international plugs. Masa is a battery 80 x 80 x 28 / 3.15" x 3.15" x 1.1" , 11.3oz 18000 mAh, USB C 45W, USB C 15W, Qi 7.5W, kickstand. Promised shipping: April 2019 https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...e-yet-powerful
  5. SuperTank & SuperPort 4 Kickstarter: SuperPort 4 is a 114 x 100 x 24 / 4.5" x 3.95" x .95" charger, weight not disclosed, USB C 100W, USB C 18W, two USB ports share 18W. SuperTank is a 27000 mAh battery w/ lots of features, 4.7" x 2.8" x 1.6", 17oz USB C 100W, USB C 60W, USB A 18W, USB A 15W all ports share 138W Promised shipping: May 2019 https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...ek-recharge-in
  6. AlsterPlus Kickstarter: 7.4" x 3.28" x 0.85", 20oz / 568gr, 27000mAh battery with 2 x 100W USB-C + 2x 18W USB-A, lots of features. All ports share 156W.
  7. Anker Atom PD4. Two USB C, two USB A all share 100W, USB A per port is 12W max. 4.1" x 3.3" x 1.3", 13.5oz. https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Chargin.../dp/B07VSMK849
  8. MagicFox PD180. This is a DC-DC unit, it takes 12-28V 180W via a 5.5mm x 2.5mm jack or 100W max via USB- C input and provides three ports: USB C 100W, USB C 40W, USB A 40W. Size 3.15" x 2.76" x 0.53", 3.44oz. Possible interesting AC-DC choices: Lenovo 4X20Q88542 at 135W either from Encompass with very long ship times or from Japan via Rakuten, Lenovo-to-5.5mm plug adapter here. 4.65" x 3" x .83", 15.24oz. If that's not enough Razer has a 180W which, AFAIK has the right plug. Notably light at 14.82oz, 5.98" / 152mm x 2.87" / 73mm x 0.93" / 23.5mm. The MagicFox PD180 itself is, so far, China only, I had good experiences with Superbuy as proxy so https://www.superbuy.com/en/page/buy...832086035.html While the MagicFox PD180 itself is cheap, high wattage, quality, lightweight AC-DC adapters are anything but.
Getting multiple units from the small section can be more compact and versatile. It is expensive, though and requires plugging multiple devices. Recommended: power strip, wall tap, wall tap. Add USB A ports via slim chargers, Amazon list and https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016XO41KQ/

Cabling wise, AmazomBasics and Monoprice is your friend. Do not use female USB C to USB A / micro USB adapters, these are explicitly forbidden by the USB C standard. Male USB C to USB A / micro USB is fine.

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Outfitting your travel kit for USB-C

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Old Feb 2, 2023, 7:01 am
  #661  
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
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Originally Posted by CarlTheWebmaster
I don't know much about this brand (Minix) but this device was appealing to me - smaller than the Anker 735, 2xUSB C + 1xUSB A, 66w, and with sturdy, snap-on UK/EU plug adapters. I have other small plug adapters but they don't hold these wall-mounted chargers very firmly - the EU-specific adapter should be a lot sturdier. $40 ($35 with 10% coupon). There's also a 100w version for $55.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I posted about the 100w version a while back. I dont use it that often, only when travelling internationally. It works fine so far, although I do wonder about the robustness of the intl pins (I have a much heavier Ugreen 100w that only has fixed pins that is more robust for day to day domestic use).
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Old Feb 2, 2023, 9:15 am
  #662  
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
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Originally Posted by LIH Prem
I have 2 of those and wouldn't buy it again, it's top heavy, so it tends not to stay in the outlet. I believe that's been discussed here. The single port nanos are much better in that small nano form factor or the larger (square) form factor for the multi-port ones, IMHO.

-David
Did yours have the silicone stabilizer donuts? They apparently added this a few months ago, having noted the fact that these tend to lever themselves out of plug points.
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Old Feb 2, 2023, 2:26 pm
  #663  
 
 
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Originally Posted by crackjack
Did yours have the silicone stabilizer donuts? They apparently added this a few months ago, having noted the fact that these tend to lever themselves out of plug points.
Did not include them. Do they work? The fact that it needs something like that ...

-David
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Old Feb 3, 2023, 6:08 pm
  #664  
 
 
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Anker support is sending me 2 of the silicon stabilizers. They said 7 - 10 days.

I asked, they requested serial numbers. I sent them a pic.

-David
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Old Feb 4, 2023, 6:55 am
  #665  
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Originally Posted by chrisrozon
I have the 65W Baseus and I'm quite happy with it.
https://www.baseus.com/products/ambl...k-65w-30000mah
Originally Posted by pseudoswede
I just bought the 20k version for $48 from Amazon.
I tried running a test to see how long I could stream off the battery. My laptop started at 90% battery power, it never reached 100%, and the power bank drained to 0 within 90 minutes. The laptop is only a 5000 mAh battery. Now the power bank is flashing 0 no matter how long I charge it.
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Old Feb 4, 2023, 8:11 am
  #666  
 
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Originally Posted by pseudoswede
I tried running a test to see how long I could stream off the battery. My laptop started at 90% battery power, it never reached 100%, and the power bank drained to 0 within 90 minutes. The laptop is only a 5000 mAh battery. Now the power bank is flashing 0 no matter how long I charge it.
Maybe a bum unit? Baseus isn't exactly a small brand. I'd probably try another unit and if it does the same thing, then get a refund.

What kind of laptop is this? 5000mah seems kinda small
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Old Feb 4, 2023, 11:10 pm
  #667  
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Originally Posted by StuckInYYZ
Maybe a bum unit? Baseus isn't exactly a small brand. I'd probably try another unit and if it does the same thing, then get a refund.

What kind of laptop is this? 5000mah seems kinda small
Prolly a bum unit, indeed.

Actually, the listing on the replacement battery for my laptop (Dell Inspiron 7373) is 3300 mAh. I ran my streaming setup off of battery power for an hour after I disconnected the battery pack, and my laptop only drained half the battery--no way should it burn through a 20,000 mAh battery pack in 90 minutes.
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Old Feb 5, 2023, 4:43 pm
  #668  
 
 
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Originally Posted by pseudoswede
Prolly a bum unit, indeed.

Actually, the listing on the replacement battery for my laptop (Dell Inspiron 7373) is 3300 mAh. I ran my streaming setup off of battery power for an hour after I disconnected the battery pack, and my laptop only drained half the battery--no way should it burn through a 20,000 mAh battery pack in 90 minutes.
Just a guess, what power profile does that system use when powered by the external power bank?

Still a big difference though.

-David

Last edited by LIH Prem; Feb 5, 2023 at 4:57 pm
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Old Feb 5, 2023, 8:40 pm
  #669  
 
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Originally Posted by pseudoswede
Prolly a bum unit, indeed.

Actually, the listing on the replacement battery for my laptop (Dell Inspiron 7373) is 3300 mAh. I ran my streaming setup off of battery power for an hour after I disconnected the battery pack, and my laptop only drained half the battery--no way should it burn through a 20,000 mAh battery pack in 90 minutes.
Not sure if this is accounted for, but:
3300 mAh @ ~11V or ~15V (nominal, standard for laptops) = 38Wh/49.5Wh or less*, 1/2 of that for 30min 60mins
20,000 mAh @ 3.3V 3.7V (nominal, standard for power banks) = 74Wh, full for 90mins.
(* Note: given the age, your laptops battery has probably degraded some. You can check your battery by using /batteryreport: MS Support)

Note that the battery in the Baseus is not necessarily putting back out 74Wh; theres a significant loss in Wh normally (IIRC ~30%, possibly differs?) in the way power banks return a charge to a device, particularly if they are charging the internal battery of the other device, as it goes from 3.7V -> whatever input voltage the device requires. (Some drop in Wh might exist the devices batteries too, but IIRC, that does not need a V conversion [EDIT] apparently there can be a voltage conversion, but expect OEM laptop producers try to account for inefficiencies to get better weight-to-battery-life ratios; doubt power bank manufacturers do.)

Finally, cold weather drops battery life significantly. IIRC, my iPhone used to die with 40% battery in just-sub-freezing weather. If it was cold, that may have played into this as well.

Of course, with your battery now not charging, something went wrong, so get a replacement for sure.

Last edited by crackjack; Feb 9, 2023 at 5:37 pm
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Old Feb 6, 2023, 8:05 am
  #670  
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I think the fact that my laptop ran on its own battery for an hour, and the fan was blaring since it was running OBS and livestreaming at the same time (in my home office, so not cold weather*), and it only used half of its battery capacity means something was definitely wrong with a 20,000 mAh power bank that drained completely in 90 minutes. I only use the Balanced Performance power profile in any of my Windows laptops.

* - that said, my best use case for having to use this power bank is when I'm livestreaming from outdoor hockey rinks. Case in point, this upcoming weekend, and it's expected to be in the low/mid-teens or 20s.
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Old Feb 7, 2023, 5:31 pm
  #671  
 
 
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Originally Posted by LIH Prem
Anker support is sending me 2 of the silicon stabilizers.
Did anybody here actually try these?

Judge for yourself. (Anker 735 - 2 usb-c + 1 usb-a - with "silicon stabilizers")




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Old Feb 7, 2023, 7:04 pm
  #672  
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
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On an airplane, maybe, assuming they didn't texturize the receptacle surface. But a really bad design if the plug is at the leg level (most economy plugs are)... Vs the eye level (see Air Canada 's economy seat). Note, you may need to dampen the cups to get enough suction.
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Old Feb 8, 2023, 12:07 am
  #673  
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
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Originally Posted by pseudoswede
I think the fact that my laptop ran on its own battery for an hour, and the fan was blaring since it was running OBS and livestreaming at the same time (in my home office, so not cold weather*), and it only used half of its battery capacity means something was definitely wrong with a 20,000 mAh power bank that drained completely in 90 minutes. I only use the Balanced Performance power profile in any of my Windows laptops.
Something wrong sure, but dont expect an exponential jump in battery life.

Your laptop on internal battery seems to have averaged ~19W (or less) for that full hour.
(Sorry, read it as only 30mins earlier.)

Baseus notes their 20,000mah battery currently on Amazon will charge a MBP 13 to 90%; thats about 52Wh (assuming they meant the M1 MBP with 58Wh capacity, not the 2017 MBP with 49Wh).; thats about a 70% efficiency from stated capacity to true output.
(Saw the cells are normally 3.7V nominal, 20k mAh would yield 74Whr.)

That 52Wh at your 19W average should give ~165mins with optimal conditions, so you might get 80% more runtime for this setup if the replacement you get is perfect. (But yes, the cold weather will affect that.)
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Old Feb 8, 2023, 12:11 am
  #674  
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
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Originally Posted by StuckInYYZ
On an airplane, maybe, assuming they didn't texturize the receptacle surface. But a really bad design if the plug is at the leg level (most economy plugs are)... Vs the eye level (see Air Canada 's economy seat). Note, you may need to dampen the cups to get enough suction.
Even if the suction doesnt work well, wont the extra length below the socket help at least somewhat with the levering out that may occur, counteracting the torque generated from the weight & centre of gravity being so far out?

Last edited by crackjack; Feb 8, 2023 at 1:00 am
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Old Feb 8, 2023, 7:35 am
  #675  
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Just got the Anker 735 and I understand the concerns now. It is quite heavy for its size. The silicon stabilizer will probably help but not work if you're trying to plug into a crowded outlet strip or other space-constrained area. I'm surprised Anker has this kind of design issue, to be honest.
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